Cybersecurity pros sponsor organization chapter

A newly formed International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC)² Idaho Chapter is recruiting members and will hold meetings in Pocatello and Idaho Falls this week.

The group will meet from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Idaho State University College of Business, building No. 5, in Pocatello.

It also will meet from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at University Place, 1770 Science Center Drive, in the CHE Building, Room 217, in Idaho Falls.

The featured speaker for the Chapter’s next meeting is Reed Stone, who manages the Cyber Threat Intelligence program at the Idaho National Laboratory. He will present his research on a cybersecurity model that “improves your ability to understand and communicate threats and risks to your organization,” the release said. The model is particularly well suited to the non-experts in the field of cyber security.

ISU’s associate dean of the College of Business, Corey Schou, Ph.D., is facilitating the formation of the (ISC)² Idaho Chapter. Schou is a founding member of the (ISC)² organization as well as the director of the National Information Assurance Technology and Education Center on the ISU campus.

“Our goal is to enable strong connections with other cybersecurity professionals across the state, provide educational opportunities for members, and inspire each of us to a new level of excellence,” Chapter President Donovan Nichols said in a news release. Nichols is a cybersecurity assessment specialist at Idaho National Laboratory.

This chapter provides an opportunity for regional businesses to network with fellow information security professionals in the region and to better understand cybersecurity threats and methods for protecting their critical operations from hackers, the release said.

“We are interested in bringing together information technology professionals and the cybersecurity community with a goal to improve Idaho’s e-commerce safety while empowering a progressive digital economy,” said Teresa Westfall, the chapter’s Pocatello regional vice president, in the release. Westfall recently retired from the Federal Bureau of Investigation after 31 years and served as the information systems security manager at the Pocatello FBI data center site.

The Idaho (ISC)² Chapter provides members the opportunity to build an Idaho network of peers to share knowledge, exchange resources and collaborate. The chapter encompasses the entire state and meetings will be held in each region across the state.

Idaho Chapter officials are “excited to provide opportunities for the current and next generation of cybersecurity professions to advance and continue cultivating cyber talent in Idaho,” the release said. Annual chapter dues are $20 for professionals and $10 for students.